


Lonely birthdays

by Tyrelingkitten



Series: In Another World series [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Fluff, Gen, One Shot, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-06
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-25 04:15:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4946332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyrelingkitten/pseuds/Tyrelingkitten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU - Law usually spends his birthdays alone. But then the new neighbors’ kid decides to bother him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lonely birthdays

_< <Happy birthday, Law! You’re now sixteen! Mom and dad apologize for not being here for you. There’s some money on the fridge. Go buy whatever you want, son,and have fun with your friends.>>_

 

Law slapped the note back on the fridge and slipped the bills from under the magnet, stuffing them into his jeans. Giving his reflection one last look in the mirror hanging across the front door –dark eye bags, slender face with high cheekbones, tired eyes and the ever-present look of his mouth pressing together into a thin line– Law bit back a sigh and closed the door behind him as he exited the house. He hadn’t even bothered to take off his shoes when he got home from class.

It’s not like it was any different from last year, or the year before that and the year before _that_. October was surprisingly a busy month every year, filled with research and seminars and testing periods and on-call emergencies at the hospital where they both worked. Dad had found a tentative cure for the Lead syndrome and mom was trying hard to accelerate the testing, to create successful anti-dotes to save lives. Which could take months, years, maybe another ten more. 

Some day, Law’s life would resemble theirs, completely focused on work, dedicating his life to his profession. That is, if Law managed to get into the prestigious Medical Institute and ace the entrance exams to start his journey becoming a doctor. 

Law usually didn’t celebrate his birthday, preferring to sleep in and watch a movie or hang out in the mall by himself. Usually it was Lamie who would buy him cake and stuff his room with presents collected from his classmates and admirers. 

But Lamie wasn’t home right now. Lamie was out of the country, having the time of her life with friends, touring the road, taking pictures of wild animals and eating unknown cuisine. She had already wished him a happy birthday early in the morning, updating all her social network sites at the same time with a newly-taken selfie of Lamie smiling widely at the camera, wind blowing her twin-tails in disarray. 

One day, he might just take up her advice to see the world and immerse himself in other cultures, but for now that wasn’t on his priority list. 

He stalked the area, headed to the nearby shopping mall, peered into the window displays for anything he’d purchase himself, but then he squashed the feeling of interest and moved on to check out other mall units, then the game center and then the food court. Bored out of his mind, Law started distancing himself from the crowd.

Maybe a movie next? Law scanned the movie posters and was disappointed when none of them sparked his interest. The void in his chest never felt this big before until now. Maybe he should have joined his friends when they decided to hold a karaoke marathon after class… but singing was embarrassing. He can’t sing to save his life, even Lamie said so. 

In the end, he made the trek home and mentally prepared a list of movies he had wanted to watch on-line.

“Oiiiiii~ Toraoooooo! Hiiiii~~!” A familiar bright voice shrieked through the quiet neighborhood.

Law bit back a groan, drew in a long tired breath to shoot a glance to the neighbors’ garden where three kids were playing in their plastic pool, splashing each other with water. One of them, the youngest of three, was waving wildly with both his arms and quickly climbed out of the pool. 

“Hi.” Law said. “Luffy, Ace, Sabo.” He named them dutifully. Ace glared at him and gave him a grudging hello. Sabo only waved since he was occupied with shoving sandwiches into his mouth. Luffy grinned up at Law. “Whatcha doing, Torao? Wanna play with us in the pool?”

“NO!” Ace shot out at the same time when Law shook his head. Why would he want to play with the bunch of neighborhood kids in their tiny pool anyway? 

“Awww bummer. I thought since you’re older you can take us to the swimming pool instead.” Luffy said. 

“Isn’t your grandpa home to take you all there?” Law asked carefully.

“Yes he is. But.” Luffy scowled. “I don’t wanna go with him.”

Ace and Sabo nodded along. “We’d rather have Makino take us there but she’s busy today so now we can only play in this plastic pool.” Sabo explained. 

“You can just ask _someone_ – like your father?” 

Luffy shook his head. “Naaah. Dad hasn’t come home yet. And Uncle Shanks is at work. Dadan can’t take us cuz she was angry earlier. And Uncle Benny had an emergency. So are you free today, Torao? Can you take us to the pool?” 

“… No.” 

Luffy immediately deflated. “Then what are you going to do?”

“I’m just going home to watch movies.”

“Boring.” Luffy huffed, pouting as he crossed his arms. “How can that be so important than playing in the pool?”

Law didn’t understand how kids’ minds worked. He hardly ever talked to these kids and for whatever reason they seemed to think he’s the coolest adult nearby, save for Ace. Ace was suspicious of everyone in the neighborhood. So in an attempt to get away, Law gave them one of his best smiles –not really– and raised a hand up to wave. “Well, it’s nice talking to you. Bye.”

He took long strides to make it home as soon as possible, quickly closing the door behind him with a bang. His eyes twitched at the sight of shoe prints tracking the hallway right down to the kitchen. Guiltily he took off his shoes and grabbed a broom from the nearby cleaning closet. 

Before he could sweep the hall clean, the doorbell rang insistently. 

“Toraoooo, I forgot something!” Luffy called out from outside. 

Law thought about ignoring the kid. Really, why was this kid bothering him when Law just wanted to stay home and spend the day quietly with his TV and popcorn? 

But when the doorbell didn’t stop ringing, Law drew in another long breath and dragged a palm over his face in defeat.

He opened the door. “Yes, Luffy, what is it?” 

The neighbor kid was standing at the front door, holding mishmash of handpicked flowers in his arms while a puddle of water pooled at his feet. 

“I forgot to say something earlier. Happy birthday, Torao!” Luffy grinned, throwing his arms in the air in delight, sending the flowers up and ran forward to hug one of Law’s legs. It didn’t take long for the wetness to seep through the fabric. 

Involuntarily, Law felt his lips twitched into a smile. For some reason, actually hearing the words from someone’s mouth warmed his chest. How long ago had anyone say these words in his face and actually mean it? How long ago had someone congratulate him for existing? 

He squatted and picked Luffy up into his embrace. “…Thank you, Luffy.” 

Luffy laughed into Law’s shirt. “Now will you come and play with us?” 

Before Law could open his mouth, a shoe hit him in the face. “HANDS OFF, YOU PERV! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY CUTE LITTLE BROTHER?”

 

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> There was once a fanart going around where Ace and Luffy are kindergarten/elementary school–I think??? And Law was a teenager passing by. This is based on that timeline. 
> 
> I have no excuse. I thought I could write something fluffy or cute but… uh I got this instead. 
> 
> HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAW, BARTOLOMEO AND TASHIGI!


End file.
